Perhaps we were just purposefully ignoring it before in the hopes that it would just go away, or maybe we really did trick ourselves into believing it was gone for good?
Either way, there’s little denying that COVID-19 has reared its ugly head again and it’s all up in the NBA’s business just in time for Christmas like the Grinch-like disease it is.
As of Sunday afternoon, 64 players have entered into the NBA’s health and safety protocols as the Omicron variant has ripped through NBA locker rooms, leading to many a team playing very shorthanded, postponed games and even cries from some corners over whether the season itself should be put on pause until things get more under control.
For the time being, that last option doesn’t appear to be on the table just as of yet as it looks like the NBA will continue to plow ahead through the season, postponing games only as what seems to be a last resort.
Whether or not you think this is the right decision is moot because this appears to be the NBA’s policy as things stand right now.
And in light of this, with how things have gone on this past week, here’s how we view the league at the moment in the latest edition of the NBA Tier List.
Tier 1: ‘Free as a bird’
Chicago Bulls guard DeMar DeRozan returned from health and safety protocols after missing three games on Sunday and proceeded to hang a season-high-matching 38 points on the Los Angeles Lakers in a big 115-105 victory.
After the game, DeRozan said he felt “free as a bird,” being back out there doing his thing.
DeRozan was placed in COVID protocols but he said he didn’t experience any symptoms of the virus while forced to sit out.
Tier 2: Depleted Bucks on the downswing
The Milwaukee Bucks have dropped three of their last four games, including defeats to the banged-up Boston Celtics and the lowly New Orleans Pelicans.
This is largely because the Bucks are dealing with many key missing player of their own, with Brook Lopez undergoing back surgery at the beginning of the month, Giannis Antetokounmpo in health and safety protocols, Donte DiVincenzo and Bobby Portis joining him and Khris Middleton dealing with a knee injury.
The Bucks dealt with injury issues at the start of the season and managed to recover, so there’s no reason to think the same can’t just happen again, but the defending champs, once again, may be in for a tough go of things here.
Tier 3: Washington washing out?
After a fabulous 10-3 start to their season, the Washington Wizards have gone 6-12 since, including dropping seven of their last nine contests.
The veteran supporting cast that was clicking so well around Bradley Beal, who was struggling to start the season, has come undone of late, and ironically, some of that cohesion seen among the group to begin the season has looked to be falling apart as Beal has begun to heat up.
Beal is a legitimate superstar, capable of scoring at-will, or at least that’s what most think of him as. Maybe, just maybe, though he’s actually just a guy who needs other to get out of his way in order to get his instead, though?
Tier 4: Raptors playing respectably again
The Toronto Raptors have won five of their last seven games, including a wire-to-wire blowout of the Golden State Warriors – who opted to not have Stephen Curry, Draymond Green nor Andrew Wiggins travel to Toronto, but still.
This recent run of strong play throughout the month of December has helped get the Raptors right back into possible playoff contention as they now sit 10th in the Eastern Conference and just one game back of the Wizards for sixth, and a playoff spot proper.
Better yet for Toronto, they got OG Anunoby back on Saturday after he missed the last 13 games with a hip pointer injury. Unfortunately, right as he returned, Pascal Siakam was forced into health and safety protocols so we’ll still have to wait to see what the lengthy wing trio of Anunoby, Siakam and Scottie Barnes can do together for a more extended period of time, but hopefully Siakam will be out of protocols sooner than later and the Raptors can keep building as they have for most of this month.
Tier 5: Pistons avoid infamous franchise history
The Pistons matched a franchise record with their 14th straight loss on Saturday, falling to the Houston Rockets, but were able to avoid setting a new low marker with a victory on Sunday against a Miami Heat team missing the likes of Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo.
When you’re the worst team in the league, sometimes you have to find small victories along the way to keep on chugging along.
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